He's pioneered digital effects in films like Terminator 2 and this summer's Titanic. Now James Cameron is determined to be the first filmmaker to direct synthetic actors. His upcoming project, the futuristic action film Avatar, stars no fewer than a dozen computer-generated thespians.

"We're developing a broad-spectrum toolset for integrating animation, motion capture, and live action in a photorealistic way," says Cameron. Translated, this means the film will deliver "organically believable lip-synching characters."

Those curious about the plot, which Cameron won't reveal, needn't reach for their dog-eared copies of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. "The story is not about virtual worlds or computing," Cameron says. "The avatars are genetic."

Cameron's biggest concern? "These are supposed to be real people, real characters. If we can pull it off, Avatar will be the coolest film ever made. If not, we'll have egg on our face.

"But," says the guy who made the industry's first US$100 million pic and hinged it on a molten metal man, "that's never stopped me before."